Bemis Company Reports 4th Quarter and Total Year 2007 Results

Business Wire, Jan 29, 2008

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NEENAH, Wis. -- Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) today reported quarterly diluted earnings of $0.42 per share for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007, including a $0.02 per share tax benefit in the quarter related to dividends from a foreign subsidiary. Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $0.39 per share, including restructuring and related charges totaling $0.03 per share. Diluted earnings per share for the full year 2007 were $1.74, a 5.6 percent increase from $1.65 per share reported in 2006. As noted above, a tax benefit related to dividends from a foreign subsidiary was included in results for 2007. Restructuring and related charges reduced results for 2006 by a total of $0.18 per share. Excluding the effect of these special items from 2007 and 2006 as described in the attached schedule, "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Data", diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2007, would have decreased by 5.8 percent.

Commenting on the results of 2007, Jeffrey Curler, Bemis Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "This was a challenging year for our business. We did not anticipate the negative impact that the current economic environment would have on consumer demand for food products in 2007 in the United States. In response, we have made adjustments to our operations to reflect the slower demand in the marketplace. Current general economic assessments forecast that the coming year will be equally as challenging. Consumer budgets are being squeezed by higher energy costs, higher food prices, and in some cases, increased housing-related costs associated with mortgage market issues. We also expect raw material cost increases during the first half of the coming year. In 2008, Bemis will continue our program of aggressively managing costs and our commitment to passing the higher raw material costs through higher selling prices as rapidly as possible. We also have substantially reduced our capital expenditure plan in 2008, directing the time and talent of our business teams to drive the growth from our recent capital investments and focus on demonstrating valuable technology and product innovation to customers. We continue to manage total system cost throughout the pipeline from supplier to consumer, and drive shareholder value momentum that will be sustained into the future."

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2007 were $912.7 million, a 1.3 percent increase from net sales of $900.6 million for the same period of 2006. Currency benefits contributed 5.0 percent to net sales for the fourth quarter. For the full year, net sales were $3.6 billion including a currency translation benefit of $0.1 billion. Excluding the impact of the currency translation, net sales would have decreased 3.1 percent.

Quarterly diluted earnings per share were $0.42 for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007. Results include a $0.02 per share tax benefit related to dividends from a foreign subsidiary. Quarterly diluted earnings per share were $0.39 for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006. In 2006, results included a $0.03 per share impact from restructuring and related charges. For the full year 2007, Bemis reported diluted earnings of $1.74 per share. This result includes the fourth quarter tax benefit of $0.02 per share discussed above. Earnings per share results for the full year 2006 totaled $1.65, including restructuring and related charges of $0.18 per share. Excluding the impact of restructuring activities and the tax benefit noted above, earnings per share would have decreased 5.8 percent in 2007.

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

Flexible Packaging

Flexible packaging, which represented about 83 percent of total Company net sales during the quarter, reported net sales of $754.8 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 1.6 percent compared to net sales of $743.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2006. Currency related sales growth of 4.8 percent was partially offset by lower sales volumes in several markets. Segment operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $83.3 million, or 11.0 percent of net sales, which included restructuring related income of $1.2 million. Segment operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $83.6 million, or 11.2 percent of net sales, which included restructuring and related charges of $4.1 million. Excluding the impact of restructuring and related activities, segment operating profit as a percentage of net sales would have been 10.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to 11.8 percent a year ago. Currency benefits added $2.4 million to operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2007.

For the total year, flexible packaging net sales of $3.0 billion were approximately equal to 2006 net sales levels. Currency effects accounted for sales growth of 3.1 percent during 2007. Excluding the impact of currency, the decrease in net sales reflects generally lower sales volumes across a number of markets. Operating profit increased to $346.6 million, or 11.5 percent of net sales, including restructuring related income of $1.5 million. Excluding restructuring and related activities, total year segment operating profit would have been $345.1 million or 11.5 percent of net sales compared to $364.1 million, or 12.1 percent of net sales in 2006. The impact of currency translation was a $7.3 million benefit to operating profit in 2007.